As Before
by mayumi.ako
Summary: 6 months after the Last Battle with the Union leaders, Rai wakes up from his coma and everything is different from as before.
1. Prologue: After the End

Disclaimer: Noblesse is not mine.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

As much as the sound reassured him to his Master's continued existence, it was also, slowly and steadily, driving him insane. The feeling was somehow vaguely familiar. He couldn't help comparing it to his countless years of combing the world when his Master suddenly disappeared. There was, at first, a sense of panic and urgency, then determination, followed by sadness and weariness.

It feels somehow unusual that it only took a few months for him to cycle through these emotions again, when it took him 8 centuries before.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He did all that he could to treat all visible and internal injuries, and yet his Master remained comatose. For the first few days, he was only mildly concerned (if ever you can say that of him when it came to his Master's well-being). After 3 weeks, with no change, he was afraid that he had truly hibernated, and it would take another 800 years before he would wake again.

It has been months now, since that last battle. Funny how all the books described the sweetness of victory, they failed to describe that it also had a foul aftertaste.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Boss." A voice cut in his thoughts.

How long had he been down here?

"Get some rest. I'll take the next shift."

He nodded absently at M-21. Not taking his eyes of the heartbeat monitor.

"I'll call you if there's any change," he promised. Frankenstein got up slowly from the armchair by his Masters bed, and shuffled upstairs to get some modicum of sleep. Mostly he just lay in bed staring at the ceiling, dozing off a few minutes at a time. He had a fear of sleeping now, not only because he was afraid that something might happen while he was in slumber but also because of the nightmares.

x x x

" _MASTER!" he cried. By then all of them was either dead or unconscious. If only he had even a drop of strength left, if to just take his Master and run._

 _The Noblesse knelt on one knee and blood was dripping freely from his bowed head. His clothes were tattered and burned in several places. In front of him was what was left of the Union leaders, those traitors. They formed a loose semi-circle around him, their faces full of malice and glee._

" _Master!" he tried calling out again. He knew his voice was weak and hoarse, what he wanted to say, he did not even know. What did he want to tell him? To run? To say goodbye?_

 _Impossibly, the Noblesse heard him, or most probably,_ felt _him. His head lifted up a fraction and his eyes locked into his. They still burned with life and he would never forget that last glance._

 _Abruptly, a large explosion rocked the earth and he tried his best to shield his head. When the ringing finally stopped, he looked up to see that only a lone figure remained, kneeling on both knees and staring at the sky, eyes vacant._

 _His body, though battered with bones broken, suddenly leapt up as he watched his Master's eyes flutter close and a stream of blood spurted from his lips. His head spun as his body protested against the sudden movement. He only had time to see his Master's body collapse on the ground before he, too, passed out._

x x x

Over and over, with excruciating detail, his mind would replay in slow-motion how the battle ended. The Noblesse, fighting to protect them and by extension, all of humanity- it was clear that the Noblesse exhausted all of his life-force; it was a miracle that he was still even alive.

Frankenstein checked the clock at his bedside, 3 hours had passed. _Good enough_. He pushed himself off the bed and made his way downstairs. He couldn't leave his side for long. It made him too anxious.

After a month, when the worst had passed and it was clear that the Noblesse was stable, he decided to remove all the machines and contraptions so his Master could sleep peacefully. That turned out to be a mistake. As soon as he removed the respirator, his breathing hitched and became erratic. His heart rate spiked and he was forced to hook them all up again.

It was very confusing to say the least; Nobles shouldn't be this fragile, and yet here they were, 6 months post-battle, his Master plugged in like a common human.

Ding.

Frankenstein stepped into the elevator and went down into the medical facility. When it first became apparent that a number of powerful beings (with powerful enemies) would be staying over, he made a point of expanding his labs with a healthcare facility.

He wearily stepped off the elevator and resigned himself to several hours of staring into space. As the automatic door slid open to his Master's private room, he was caught off guard as a pair of familiar red eyes stared angrily back at him.

"Boss.." M-21 trailed off. "We have a problem."

Authors Notes:

Okay, all of my other stories are in hiatus (if it wasn't that obvious after of almost 1 year of no updates). I was reading some discussion threads on how the series would end, some say that Rai will die, or become human, or die and be reborn, or reincarnated into a new noblesse, etc. I want to explore that. I'm not sure yet what direction I'm headed for except that !RaiLives. It's starts of a little bleak, (its after a war, after all) but I promise that I'll try to inject humor in the following chapters. So what do you think should happen? Do you want Rai to be human? Do you want him to have amnesia? Pls let me know what you think!


	2. RK:0

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Noblesse is not mine.

x x x

"Boss, we have a problem..." He heard M-21 mutter under his breath. He seemed to be pinned in place with the Noblesse's glare in full force. His eyes were wide in his face as sweat dripped from his forehead.

His Master's gaze moved from the enhanced human and focused on him. A barely imperceptible relief flickered behind his eyes.

"I know you." The Noblesse proclaims. As if they wouldn't know of this fact. His gaze flicks back to M-21 and his brows knit in suspicion.

 _Oh dear._

"Master?" He stepped warily to his side. Hands palm out to indicate… what? No harmful intent? With the Union leaders dead, nothing short of a nuclear bomb could have harmed him. "Yes, you know me." He stopped at the foot of the bed, hardly daring to breath. The silence was only broken by the hum of the medical machines and M-21's harsh breathing. "I am Frankenstein."

"Master?" He echoes back at him. His face takes on a thoughtful manner. "I know you," he repeats. "You were there at the battle."

 _Oh dear_.

"Yes, I was there." Frankenstein says cautiously. "This is M-21. He was also there, if you don't remember." M-21's breathing was becoming labored by the minute.

"He is… an employee... in OUR household." He explains slowly. "If you would please, release him from your body bind?"

The ex-human suddenly fell to his knees, gasping for breath. He shakily got up to his knees, his face was red and the confusion in his eyes probably mirrored his own.

"You should go... tell the others," Frankenstein instructed. "We'll be there in a moment." He was only dimly aware as the automatic door slid open and close.

Frankenstein looked at the raven-haired figure sitting on the bed. All the tubes were dangling limply from the sides, already removed from their intended patient. He could see a slow trickle of blood running from his Master's inner forearm.

"I am your most faithful servant," He kneeled on one knee at his Master's bedside. "Do you retain any memories of me?" he asked.

"You were there," he struggled to remember. "I remember you calling me." His eyes lifted to his, confusion clouding his thoughts.

Frankenstein's eyebrows rose as he remembered the same thing. "You heard me," he said softly.

"You called me," he repeated.

It seemed to Frankenstein that he could his Masters' mind go miles a minute, trying to sort out his memories. Suddenly, his face blanked. "Nothing," he said. "I don't remember anything before, or about your employee…" His face looked apologetic. It was disconcerting seeing emotions pass his face, when before, the most he would display was cold indifference, even to enemies.

Frankenstein let out a breath he did not even know he was holding. _Amnesia_ , he thought, and sighed. It was painful, and his heart thumped painfully in his chest. For one self-absorbed second, he thought he had forgotten everything else, _except_ him.

"Regardless of that," said Frankenstein. "It is good to see you awake again, even if you do not remember us." He stood up gracefully and bowed his head respectfully. "Are you well enough to move? You have always been fond of tea, with luck, you like it still. Please come upstairs and I can brew some to calm your thoughts."

"Frankenstein."

 _That tone_. His eyes snapped up at once. "Yes, Master?"

"I remember now…" The Noblesse gracefully lifted himself from the bed and walked past him towards the door. "8 lumps of sugar."

Authors Note:

I hope this chapter wasn't a disappointment. I intend for Rai to regain at least one memory/person per chapter and for it to be triggered by…something. Some chapters may be shorter or longer depending on my plot line. Any ideas? Join me in the hunt for the Noblesse's memories! :)


	3. Little M

Disclaimer: Who owns Noblesse? Not me, that's for sure.

X x x

The house was eerily quiet. The others had left for school hours ago, leaving him in charge of the house. He was finally bullied by Tao into taking out his vacation leave; it was just his luck that it coincided with the time _ **he**_ woke up.

M-21 was shifting uncomfortably as he stood guard in the corner of the room.

X x x

" _Good job, M-21," the boss praised him. "It's nice to see you take some initiative." He stared blankly at the blonde man as he continued to talk over him._

" _I don't think Master is ready to go back to school yet," said Frankenstein. "It's wonderful you can look after him while he reacquaints himself with the times." A warning briefly flashed in his eyes before continuing. "He seems to have lost his memories but I am already working on that."_

" _He doesn't remember anything?" he asked cautiously, remembering how he was pinned down the moment the Noblesse woke up and saw him._

" _He has regained his memories of me," the blond man answered thoughtfully. "It looks like certain words or maybe objects can trigger them."_

" _So, all we have to do is find out what can trigger his memories of us?"_

" _It looks to be that way," Frankenstein confirmed. "In my case, he seems to have associated "tea" with his memories of me, and so has remembered most of our time together."_

 _He fixed M-21 with a calculating stare, "I don't want to overwhelm Master with everyone's company all at once. I am not even entirely sure if all he has recovered all his powers, so for now, you will act as his guard while we think of ways to jolt his memories."_

X X X

*Clink*

 _ **He**_ lowered his cup and saucer to the table and slowly stood up, he glanced briefly in his directions (still with a bit of suspicion, he notices) and says, "I am going out."

Who was he to argue? He might be scared of Frankenstein and the boss might cut him up into little pieces if anything should happen to his Master, but he was also all too aware that the Noblesse was still suspicious of him and a flick of his finger was all it took to disintegrate him into nothing.

So he followed inconspicuously as the Noblesse roamed the streets, curiously looking at the modern buildings and the equally modern people. While he himself absently wondered what kind of word or object the Noblesse might associate with him, enough to trigger his memories of him.

 _Where did he go?!_ M-21 suddenly made a full stop as he realized that the target he was following was no longer in sight. _Calm down, M-21_ , he told himself. He quickly surveyed his surroundings, but could get no clue as to where he disappeared to.

Did _this_ have _to happen on_ his _watch?_ M-21 tried not to panic as he walked purposely forward, his eyes shifting from side to side, looking for a trace of the raven-haired noble.

He was searching for maybe 30 minutes before he became frustrated enough to finally call for backup. "Tao," he called the hacker.

"How goes the vacation, M-21?"

"Er, about that…" he started. "The boss kinda ordered me to guard _**him**_."

"No worries then," Tao laughed. "You were actually of thinking of spending your vacation at the house, right?"

"Er.." M-21 didn't really know how to explain the situation. "I lost _**him**_."

"…"

"Tao?"

"You almost got me there!" Tao laughed. He could hear some typing in the background and Tao's laughed was abruptly cut off. "You're in the middle of 6th street, which is _nowhere_ near the house." There was already a hint of panic in his voice. "M-21, _please_ don'ttell me, that you have in fact, lost the boss' _Master_." Tao was practically pleading.

"Can't you track him or something?"

" _M-21_!" Tao's hissed. He didn't think it was possible to shout and whisper at the same time. "You lost him?"

"You told me not to tell you!" he reminded him.

"Does the boss know?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"You think I would still be talking to you and alive, if he did?" he countered.

"Just- just.." Tao was apparently lost for words, or panicking, or both. "…stay there, keep looking.." then the line went dead.

After approximately 5 minutes, a figured landed right next to him, while he was surveying a dead-end alley. "Any luck?" asked Tao. His eyes were bulging and he looked even more stressed than M-21.

He sighed and shook his head. "Did you try tracking his phone?" he asked.

"It's not turned on." Tao had his eyes closed and was taking calming breathes. "We have approximately 52 minutes till school lets out. I have Takeo ready to stall, just in case."

They jumped from rooftop to rooftop and periodically tried sensing for the Nobles whereabouts.

After an hour of turning up nothing, they quietly accepted their fate and trudged back to the house. If nothing else, the others might be able to help in the search. They stopped by the front door and Tao turned to him with solemn eyes. "It was nice knowing you," he said as he placed a hand on his shoulder, and then he disappeared from sight.

He couldn't blame the hacker, if all hell was about to break lose, he wouldn't want to be here, too. Comrade or not, there was no point in both of them being sliced into pieces.

M-21 decided to make his way inside through the back, steeling himself for the blood bath to come. As he opened the door to the living room, his hand froze on the door knob.

On the sofa, indifferent as usual, was the Boss' Master, calmly sipping a cup of tea. He let out a small sigh of relief. At least _**he**_ got home safe. Maybe this day wouldn't end with him with several wounds and bruises. That's what he thought, anyway, until he saw the big ball of fur at his feet. _Shit. I don't think the boss allows animals in the house…_

He stepped into the room, his eyes still on the creature on the floor. _Something doesn't feel right here._ He could see that the animal in question was in fact a white puppy. Its fur was white and shaggy; as if sensing his scrutiny, it lifted its head to look at him, and he could see it had _grey eyes_.

A faint ringing sounded from the phone on the table and he watched as the Noblesse glanced at the screen before standing up. He very briefly peered at the puppy following him before looking back at him.

"M-21." he acknowledged with a slight nod. And then he _smiled_ as he was went past him to exit the room.

Chills went up his spine as he realized, _He remembered him!_ Then he groaned inwardly- _Tao will never let him live this down. The Noblesse associated him with a puppy!_

X X X

Authors note:

Any idea of what other things can trigger memories of the others?

Gejutel? The lord? Other nobles? Next will probably the children. But I'm still plotting it out in my head.

I love reviews! And Comments! Even a single comment will give me the drive to finish a chapter earlier. :)


	4. Extra

"Bwahahahah!" laughed Tao. "I can't- I can't-"

"-believe he thinks of you as a puppy!" Takeo finished. They were both visibly shaking with glee.

"It just _triggered_ his memories of me." M-21 growled.

They both looked at the canine sitting on his head and doubled over again in laughter.

"It's obviously you," said Tao, wiping a tear from his eye. "Just look at its fur and eyes."

"It even has a scar on its ear," Takeo chimed in, peering up at the puppy's face. "To match the one on your lip."

"I _told_ you-" M-21 broke off as the door opened.

Frankenstein breezed into the Living Room carrying two small baskets. His eyes twitched as his gaze fell upon the creature they were playing with, but said nothing. No doubt he wanted to get rid of the little animal, but wouldn't dare as his Master adopted it personally.

"You forgot this," he said, as he placed the baskets on the table. They were about to peek inside, when the door opened again, this time with the Boss' Master coming in. They both froze, anticipating a hostile reaction to their presence; at this time, he only remembers M-21 and the Boss.

"M-21." He said, as he walked past. "Takeo. Tao." The Noblesse paid no mind as all the ex-humans gaped at him in surprise.

"He has recovered memories of you all." Frankenstein explained. His eyes flashed dangerously before saying, "Because of that, I expect you to take care of that..." indicating the baskets he brought. One toppled over, and a rabbit shyly emerged, its fur was almost all black except for a spot of white on one of its ears. They opened the other basket and saw a chicken, with amazingly blue eyes.

Takeo and Tao looked confusedly at the two animals when M-21 suddenly burst out laughing. "Looks like I'm not the only pet in this household!" They both looked on in horror as they realized they were a chicken and a rabbit respectively.

On the sofa, the Noblesse hid a blush behind his teacup.

 **Authors Notes:**

Extra Chapter! Yay! Wanted to get this out of the way, since the three of cannot be separated.

To Smile: I forgot about the pink gloves and aprons! Oh what fun! I will have to work that in somehow. I don't know if I'll be able to work in everyone but I'll try my best. :)

I thought you could reply to comments like in Ao3 but it turns out it's a reply that will go to the inbox? Oh well.

Keep those reviews coming. I love reviews! Reviews or a simple comment "Hi!" triggers my brain power.


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